David Finley just completed in his ninth season as the Dodgers\u2019 vice president, scouting. He wasn’t the only voice in the team’s front office advocating to sign Shohei Ohtani two years ago, but perhaps no one had a more effusive assessment of Ohtani’s talent.<\/p>\n
Finley was on Ohtani when he worked for the Boston Red Sox, and Ohtani had yet to matriculate from high school in Japan. Back then, Ohtani was turning heads more for his pitching talent than his hitting talent.<\/p>\n
More news: Dodgers Lose Free Agent Outfielder To Mets<\/a><\/p>\n “We knew he could hit,” Finley told Forbes’ John Perrotto<\/a>. “But hitting in high school is a lot different than hitting in pro ball. Absolutely, we didn’t know he was that good a hitter.”<\/p>\n Ohtani debuted in NPB, the top league in Japan, as an 18-year-old in 2013. By 2014, he was putting up eye-popping numbers as a pitcher. Facing Japan’s best hitters, Ohtani went 11-4 with a 2.61 ERA, and struck out 179 in 155.1 innings in 2014.<\/p>\n As a hitter, Ohtani slashed .274\/.338\/.505 that season, beginning to show signs of the power that would come to convince scouts he could make it as a two-way player in Major League Baseball.<\/p>\n Ohtani signed with the Angels in December 2017, and quickly made his mark as the 2018 American League Rookie of the Year. By the time he finalized a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in December 2023, Ohtani was a two-time MVP, a three-time All-Star, and a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner.<\/p>\n More news: Dodgers Invite Recently Signed Free Agent to Spring Training<\/a><\/p>\n